1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a clothes hanger and, more specifically, to a clothes hanger having a retractable arm to allow for easy placement of clothing thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types and styles of clothing are generally available, and such styles tend to ebb and flow in cycles depending upon fashion trends, seasons, personal taste, specific need or function, and other ephemeral and unspoken reasons. With the exception of various sized, however, most clothing in the united states are hung in closets using a simple, one-piece rigid hanger mechanism having a hook connected to laterally opposed arm extension. While adequate for most applications, such a fixed body can be inconvenient to use with those types and styles of clothing that do not have a split front. By way of example, the hanging of a turtleneck sweater can be difficult, sometimes impossible to accomplish without disheveling of the garment.
Several broad categories of improved hangers exist. Generally, they can be categorized as angularly extendable, telescopingly adjustable, or specialized function.
For example, the first group, angularly extendible, attempts to change the overall width of the hanger by adjusting the angle between opposing arm members. This is typified by U.S. Pat. No. 6,964,360, issued in the name of Tubman et al., wherein an adjustable clothes hanger that includes a pair of pivoting arm members that lockably engage at differing pivot points to allow each opposing arm member to be fixed in various positions along a lateral track. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,464, issued in the name of Huang provides for making the hanger wider or narrower in overall width by repositioning a single flexible arm member at differing angles. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 923,786, issued in the name of Geraci, provides for a scissor-like pivot between opposing arm members.
The second group, telescopingly adjustable, does not change the angle between arm members, but rather attempts to telescope or otherwise extend these arm members away from each other in an attempt to affect overall size of the hanger. This can be illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,174, issued in the name of Kandl; U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,358, issued in the name of Lam; U.S. Pat. No. 6,722,538, issued in the name of Autry et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,491,836, issued in the name of Simmet.
A subset of such telescopingly adjustable hangers provides for various extension gadgets that work in conjunction with fixed arm hangers. Examples of such appear in U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,599, issued in the name of Platti, in which the hanger hook portion is vertically adjustable, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,504, issued in the name of Richard, in which a separable hanger extension is provided that can be clipped onto an otherwise conventional hanger.
Finally, special function hangers exist in which an unconventional form is provided, specifically adapted for the task. Examples appear in:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,255, issued in the name of Turner;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,220,489, issued in the name of Sato;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,480,075, issued in the name of Robinson; and
U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,743, issued in the name of Deady.
However, none of these solutions are adapted to or adequately address the need of placement of the hanger into clothing that does not have a split or opening within the body or expansion in the neck opening. Consequently, a need has been felt for providing an apparatus and method of providing a clothes hanger having a retractable arm to allow for easy placement of clothing thereon.